Digital switchover is HERE – this is what you need to do
Yet to get a grip on switchover? It’s time to tool up, says Clare Morris. When your in-tray is overflowing, there’s nothing quite so dangerous as a very long deadline. The digital switchover of analogue phone lines has been on the horizon for years, the distant date of 2025 lulling many of us into a […]
Think like a gamer: 5 reasons winning sign-off on your digital plan is the new Minecraft
We all want to make a difference in social care – we all want to ‘be the change’ – but when it comes to navigating the hierarchies and decision-making forums in your organisation, that takes some smart and tactical thinking. Tapping into the right governance, both in your organisation and maybe partner organisations, and leveraging your influence […]
The magic is happening…see for yourself!
Meet Pam, an 88-yr-old dog lover whose social worker, Jacob, was concerned to find her back door open on a morning visit. Jacob was able to recommend a sensor package for Pam’s home, and data showed him that Pam lets her dog out at night, checks the bins, and often forgets to shut her back […]
Show Me The Money!
Councils and their TEC suppliers are fixated on financial motivations; here’s why that mindset is actually putting a brake on progress (and savings!) How much do you value closing your door on the world each evening for some uninterrupted down time? Or choosing when you’ll eat next? Or making your own plans for seeing friends […]
Move over Joe Wicks: in search of the digital realm’s best strength and balance content
Grappling with ideas to lower fall risk for your service users? Our round-up of digital resources may help, says Rethink research intern Megan Knightsbridge. As part of my Masters, I’m used to picking random topics and following the research down rabbit holes, but digital resources to help mitigate fall risks is a world I’d never […]
Hive mind: 5 reasons to build dialogue into your commissioning process
Are orthodox commissioning procedures failing your users? Pull more thinking power in and everyone wins, says Sam Bassett. Imagine walking into a car showroom looking for the best price on a blue car that will do 60mph. You have a pretty clear idea of what you’re going to get, right? Now imagine saying to the […]
Befriending Alexa: what the arrival of the tech giants means for your care offer
Apple, Google and Amazon are wising up to care opportunities with their tech, but are local authorities positioned to benefit? A shift in the care technology landscape is coming, says Sam Bassett. Future-proofing our care tech hasn’t been a huge concern over the last 15 or 20 years. After all, the offer from the main […]
Let’s dance: changing the mood music for true culture change
Struggling to get digital culture change to stick? It’s time to turn up the music and let everyone feel good about some new moves, says Clare Morris. Picture the scene: it’s a family wedding (remember those?) and that time of the night when tables have been pushed back and lights lowered so everyone can have […]
Goodbye HAL, hello Ellen Ripley
Hollywood has fed our anxieties around AI for years, but as social care steps into sci-fi territory it’s time to share some new stories, says Clare Morris. If you shut your eyes and imagine what AI might sound like, anyone born in the later part of the 20th century will hear the chilling Canadian monotone […]
When two tribes go to work
LGA & Rethink Partners Digital Care Technology Resource Centre When two tribes go to war work Covid has lowered barriers to tech adoption, but the culture change mustn’t stop here. The opportunities (and challenges) of partnering with other services are just waiting to be grasped, says Clare Morri. There’s a reason for the slogan ‘Your […]